The December updates for Oracle's Planning & Budgeting Cloud Service (PBCS) and Enterprise Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service (EPBCS) are here. This blog post outlines several new features for both applications, enhancements, removal of support, and fixed defects.
The monthly update for PBCS and EPBCS will occur on Friday, December 15 during your normal daily maintenance window.
Updates for PBCS & EPBCS
Standard Interface (PBCS Workspace) Support Removed
As notified through earlier Cloud Readiness documents, starting with this update, the Standard Interface, which is also known as the Enterprise Planning and Budgeting Cloud Workspace, is no longer supported. Issues reported for the Standard Interface will no longer be addressed. This change affects only Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service customers who activated their subscriptions on or before July 31, 2016. All these customers are expected to have a transition plan for their users to use the Simplified Interface.
To learn more about changes to your user experience when you switch to the simplified interface, watch the webinar replay.
Tree View Set as the Default for Reports and Task Lists
To more easily navigate a multilevel folder structure, the Tree View (versus the Flat view) is now the default in reports and task lists.
Loading Metadata in Data Management
Data Management now supports the loading of metadata from a flat file. This feature allows you to build a metadata load file in any format, from any source, and load the metadata to an EPM Cloud environment. Using this approach, users can set property defaults during the load or mapping process. In this monthly update, only regular, custom, and Smart List dimensions are supported for metadata loads, and the feature is supported for the following services only:
- PBCS
- EPBCS
- Oracle Financial Consolidation and Closing Cloud (FCCS)
- Oracle Tax Reporting Cloud
New Custom Functions in Calculation Manager
Five new custom functions have been added to Calculation Manager. Each of these functions correspond to an existing function in that the existing functions return only positive numbers, and the new functions can return either a positive number or a negative number depending on the calculated result. The new functions (and the existing function to which they correspond) are as follows:
| Existing Function | New Function |
| @CalcMgrDateDiff | @CalcMgrDiffDate |
| @CalcMgrYearsBetween | @CalcMgrYearsDiff |
| @CalcMgrMonthsBetween | @CalcMgrMonthsDiff |
| @CalcMgrDaysBetween | @CalcMgrDaysDiff |
| @CalcMgrWeeksBetween | @CalcMgrWeeksDiff |
New Design-time Prompt Functions in Calculation Manager
A new @Length design-time prompt is now available in Calculation Manager. @Lengthreturns the length of the text.
New Smart View for Office Version
Smart View for Office 11.1.2.5.720 will be available by early December. This version includes new features such as:
- Support for using a connection string with HypUIConnect, instead of a friendly name. Friendly names are still supported
- Enhanced extension update workflow, allowing you to select a server or service from which to check for updated extension downloads
- Cascading from multiple dimensions in a single operation
- Ability to run business rules templates
- Support for additional data types with HsGetValue: Smart Lists, text, and date
- Option to suppress display of the floating toolbar on forms
- Option to automatically resize column width and row height on cells in forms and ad hoc grids This release also fixes a number of defects.
Many defect are also fixed in this release.
The Smart View 11.1.2.5.720 Readme, available on the Help Center at the time of release, contains a complete list of features and defects addressed in this version. You must install this version to ensure compatibility with the December 2017 update features and to access the new functionalities.
New Guides for Getting Started with Oracle EPM Cloud
Information for getting started with EPM cloud services are now available for Service Admins and end users. The new guides include:
- Getting Started with Oracle EPM Cloud for Admins
- Getting Started with Oracle EPM Cloud for Users
The admin guides contains information for tasks that admins need to perform for EPM Cloud products. This guide is now the primary source for completing tasks like managing users and roles, setting up single sign-on, backing up, restoring environments, etc. The new guide replaces the following guides:
- Using Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud
- Getting Started with Oracle Financial Consolidation and Cloud Cloud
- Getting Started with Account Reconciliation Cloud for Administrators
- Getting Started with Oracle Profitability and Cost Management Cloud for Administrators
- Getting Started with Oracle Tax Reporting Cloud
- Getting Started for Administrators for Oracle Enterprise Performance Reporting Cloud
The new guide for end users introduces them to the Oracle EPM Cloud, giving them enough information to use the cloud-based tool. Getting Started with Oracle EPM Cloud for Users replaces the following guides:
- Getting Started with Account Reconciliation Cloud for Users
- Getting Started with Oracle Profitability and Cost Management Cloud for Users
- Getting Started for Users for Oracle Enterprise Performance Reporting Cloud
EPBCS Only
Create and Edit Account Groups in Strategic Modeling
You can now create and edit Account Groups in Strategic Modeling on the Web. In the Account View, from the Actions menu, click Account Groups.
Refresh Project Dates for Projects Business Process
A new Refresh Project Dates menu option is now available on the Project Details form to refresh project dates in the Projects business process of EPBCS. Refresh project dates to enable input cells of Direct Expense/Revenue forms when:
- Projects are imported
- Projects dates change
Removal of Support
Classic Dimension Editor
With the February 2018 (18.02) update, the Dimensions link in the Navigator will link to the Simplified Dimension Editor. Effective February 2018 (February 2, 2018 for test and February 16, 2018 for production environments), the Simplified Dimension Editor will be the only interface available to edit and manage dimensions.
Financial Reporting Studio Desktop Client
Oracle is committed to providing a simple and intuitive user experience. To achieve this, Financial Reporting Web Studio, available since March 2016, will become the only environment for designing and building reports.
Oracle is providing additional time for users to transition from Financial Reporting Desktop Studio to Financial Reporting Web Studio. Tentative plans call for functional parity between Financial Reporting Web Studio and Financial Reporting Desktop Studio in late 2017, at which time, support for the Desktop Studio will transition to the Web Studio and distribution of the Desktop Studio will cease.
Oracle recommends that you transition to using Financial Reporting Web Studio at the earliest opportunity. Please send questions and concerns to Oracle using the Provide Feedback option in the service.
Fixed Defects
|
Defect Number |
Description |
|
27045036 |
The HTML preview of a Financial Reporting report with multiple grids now displays correctly. |
|
27009032 |
The data load rule is now correctly executed even if UTF8 formatted mapping file contains Byte Order Marks (BOM) characters. |
|
27049959 |
In the Capital business process of Enterprise Planning and Budgeting Cloud, amortization is now correctly calculated when you transfer an intangible asset from one entity to another. |
|
26998018 |
In the Task List Report, the number of tasks by user and the total number of tasks are now correct. |
|
26995802 |
In Financial Reporting Web Studio, selecting an account using the member selection now works correctly. |
|
26988727 |
In the Capital business process of Enterprise Planning and Budgeting Cloud, cash flow and fund flow are now calculating correctly for assets with a purchase date of December. |
|
26980840 |
The Job Console now displays the correct label for the day the job was completed; for example, Yesterday. |
|
26978967 |
After changing project dates, valid periods now show up in the direct expense entry and direct revenue entry forms when you run the Refresh Project Dates rule. |
|
26975317 |
When you export multiple reports from Financial Reporting Web Studio into Excel, and then view the reports in HTML, an error no longer occurs and the reports display correctly. |
|
26956760 |
For the Financials business process in Enterprise Planning and Budgeting Cloud, importing an application snapshot no longer fails when Asset Detail is defined as a custom dimension. |
|
26942717 |
After a service update, the Vendor dimension is no longer incorrectly enabled for a cube when that dimension was created and enabled for Financials, renamed, and the renamed dimension was used in Projects, Workforce, and Capital. |
| 26940771 | In forms containing a large number of attribute dimensions, a scroll bar is now available inside Attribute Dimension to enable you to drag and drop dimensions into rows or columns. |
| 26827049 | In the Projects business process in Oracle Enterprise Planning and Budgeting Cloud, calculations are now correct when the fiscal year is not the calendar year. |
| 26780292 |
In EPBCS, importing an application snapshot now succeeds when a provided member is referenced in a custom member formula for the Period dimension. |
| 26759004 | You can now add labels to charts in Financial Reporting Web Studio. |
| 26719130 | The problem with security when running a report from the Explore Repository in Financial Reporting Web Studio has been fixed. (Previously, if you had "Apply Application Security to FR POV and Prompt" set to "true", you were still able to see the entire hierarchy.) |
| 26478186 | Custom fonts uploaded using Financial Reporting Web Studio are now stored correctly. |
| 25985928 | Dynamic ranges on graphs now work the same in both Financial Reporting Web Studio and Financial Reporting Studio desktop client. (Previously, reports set to vary the y-axis range based on the data set resulted in graphs with too wide or too narrow of a data range.) |
| 26478186 | Custom fonts uploaded with Financial Reporting Web Studio are now correctly stored. |
| 26179898 | In the Workforce Planning business process, when the Plan Start is the Current Fiscal Year, the Process Loaded Data rule now copies the new rate from CurMnth to all future periods in Yearrange. (Previously, Process Loaded Data copied the new rate only to CurMnth, leaving future period rates at their previous load values.) Set the values of the substitution variables &CurYr and &CurMnth to the year and month where new rate is being loaded before running the rule. |
Considerations
Using Firefox ESR 52.4.2 with Smart View
Future releases of Mozilla Firefox will be phasing out support for XUL-based add-ons such as Smart View. Starting in mid-November 2017, only add-ons and extensions built with new web extension technology will work in Firefox. Therefore, Smart View 11.1.2.5.710 only supports Firefox versions up to ESR 52.4.1. If you want to continue using Firefox with Smart View 11.1.2.5.710, do not upgrade your Firefox browser.
If your Firefox browser is set to automatically install updates, Oracle recommends changing the setting to “Check for updates, but let me choose whether to install them.” See the Firefox help for instructions on changing this setting.
To learn more about the simplified interface vs. workspace, watch the webinar replay...
